Shadow in the Rocks
by affTwill
Summary: A trainer gets in over his head while exploring the Giant Chasm, and seeks shelter to give his team the chance to rest.


"We're gunna be fine, girl. A little longer, and we'll find somewhere to stay." I collapsed against a small rocky outcrop. The walls of the Giant Chasm provided plenty of small caves to hide in. Running into another occupied one – well, we probably wouldn't make it out again. Sweat tickled my brow, but I didn't have the energy to wipe it away.

Mienshao, my little princess, always so careful too keep her coat immaculate, fell against a boulder. Blood stained her snowy flank from a nasty trio of cuts. More blood crusted her muzzle where her left whisker had been sliced off in the fighting.

I touched Sneasel's pokeball. A sign of desperation. I didn't want the pokemon, but at this point, anything that might save us couldn't be left behind. Trainers didn't fear death, it came with the job, but I didn't look forward to it, and wouldn't let my team down without a fight.

Of course I've never seen pokemon acting like this. The Giant Chasm had plenty of superstition surrounding it, and the Absol that inhabited it, whom I'd become quite familiar with, didn't help dissuade the stories, but I'd never heard of berserk pokemon. After seven badges and three years of traveling, swarms and plenty of grim situations, I've never seen such relentless brutality from pokemon.

Mienshao slumped against my side. If I regret anything, it was subjecting my team to this.

I ran a hand over her head. "C'mon girl, don't quit on me just yet."

She whined softly. "Shao."

"I know. We can rest in a few minutes." I peered out from our shelter, little more than a few rocks, and looked for something more substantial. Something would find us eventually, probably soon considering how active the pokemon here were.

Something flicker in the corner of my eye. A shadowed nook lay a few yards further along the wall. Exhaustion made it harder to focus, but for once, it seemed to help. My eyes almost slid right past the cave on my first scan of the area. Or maybe I was already hallucinating. From here, it didn't look like I'd fit. _It's the angle. We'll fit._ When you were this far behind, you had to take risks.

"I see a cave. If I have to carry you like that time we had to cross the marsh, I'm not gunna be happy." Not even a chuckle. I took her paw. "C'mon."

We half ran, half stumbled towards the cave. If anything saw us – no, nothing would. Nothing lived in that cave, nothing watched from the trees, nothing flew overhead, not for these next few feet. Please.

I slowed once we approached the cave. As I drew closer, the shadows lingered, and I couldn't see anything inside. "Do you smell anything?"

Mienshao tested the air, her nose having saved us in the past. The scared look she gave me didn't impart much confidence, but what could we do? The shadows flickered again, and the darkness that covered the cave revealed a much larger opening, still small, but – something seemed off.

The shadows lifted slightly, brighten, but the clouds overhead hadn't changed. I peered inside. The cave extended into the cliff, but I couldn't make out an end to it. Perfect, as long as nothing else already inhabited the darkness.

"I'll go first. Stay close." I gave Mienshao a quick pat on the head, and bent down to enter. The tunnel twisted left, and sunlight quickly faded, though the walls opened up a little. I pulled a small flashlight from my belt. The cave opened up into a small room, perfect for a shelter, almost too perfect to remain unoccupied. A low growl filled the small cave.

Mienshao shoved past me, placing herself between me and a pair of bright blue eyes that glowed in the darkness. The shadows devoured my light, resisting illumination. Another growl rumbled from the pool of shadow.

Mienshao put on a fierce show. She always did, and bloodied or not, she'd fight till the end. I prepared myself for it. Hiding had been a long shot, a last ditch effort to survive one more night.

"Let's do this," I whispered into my pokemon's ear, placing a hand on her shoulder. "One more fight. Then we can rest." The shadows started to recede before the light I held. "Impossible."

A Zoroark crouched on the cave's rocky soil, fangs bared and eyes glowing bright. It rose slowly. I'd never seen one of the reclusive pokemon in person before.

Mienshao fell into her fighting stance, watching her foe with new-found hope. Maybe, with the type advantage, she had a chance. Maybe.

Zoroark stumbled before bracing itself against the cave wall. Three blood-red claws scraped against rock. Similar shades of crimson outlined the fearsome pokemon's body. Such a beautiful pokemon, if not intimidating. Zoroark didn't have markings on their front though from the few pictures I'd seen.

The pokemon collapsed to its knees. Blood, not fur color stained its torso. Again Zoroark tried to growl with fangs bared, but the noise came out as a piteous thing. It slumped, hanging its head in defeat.

I gripped Mienshao's shoulder. "Stand down." The Zoroark hadn't been about to attack, it had tried to scare us off without a fight. My pack had precious few supplies left, but I might have something. I'd already used twice the advised limit of potions on my pokemon, anymore would do more harm than good.

"I'm not going to hurt you, here." I extended my hands, showing the medicine. I doubt it knew what the potion was, but I hoped my stance put it at ease. Injured or not, those claws could tear me to pieces before I could blink.

Mienshao grabbed onto my pant-leg, but I placed a hand over her paw without halting my delicate advance. We could make friends with the pokemon, or fight it, and none of us looked like we'd survive a fight.

"I can help you." Adrenaline washed away the bands of fatigue that made trudging through the crater so arduous. Zoroark moved, and I jumped back, but the pokemon teetered and fell against the rough stone wall, only the wall keeping Zoroark upright.

Zoroark panted, its glowing eyes loosing light, but it held its claws up threateningly. "Roark."

"It's okay." I reached for its arm, and- "Fuck!" I stumbled back in the darkness, my light clattering off the ground and sending the cave into a wild dance of shadows. Pain burned across the back of my hand, and I could feel the warmth of blood beginning to spread.

Mienshao grabbed me before I fell and advanced on the Zoroark.

"Don't." I picked up the light in my left hand. Of course it would be my right. I shone it back on Zoroark. "I'm not here to fight you. We just need shelter. Please."

The pokemon let out one final cry. "Zoroark, Zor!" Gasping, it slumped to the ground, light dying from its eyes before they closed, and the pokemon went limp. A shadow of blood remained where Zoroark had been curled up.

I sighed and cradled my bleeding hand. "I just wanted to help you." I checked to see what had done the Zoroark in, but its chest continued to rise in shallow breaths. "Hold this." I gave Mienshao the flashlight and hesitantly touched the Zoroark's arm. No response.

If it woke, well my hand already needed stitches, not that anyone out here could patch me up. At least I'd have a story for the scars. If we get out.

From what I could tell, the pokemon suffered three pretty nasty cuts to its stomach, though with so much blood matting its fur, I couldn't tell exactly. It seemed they weren't too recent either, maybe even a day old, impressive it lived so long.

It couldn't hurt to try helping, unless it killed us all once it woke. I injected the potion into Zoroark's arm, and dropped the empty bottle at the pokemon's side. A broad smile broke across my face and I turned to Mienshao, who still eyed the unconscious pokemon uneasily.

"We did it! We made it!" I threw my arms around her lithe body in a tight hug. Blood and dirt covered us both already, a little more either way didn't matter. "You did it." Tears did not well up in my eyes as every ounce of fatigue and hunger crashed back onto me. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Mien." She slumped under my weight but tried her best to give me that proud look she had every time I praised her.

"The others will be fine in stasis for a bit longer. A few hours rest, and we'll figure out what to do. Sound good?"

Mienshao nodded and handed the light back. I took it, and without pulling out the blanket from my pack, lay down on the gravely floor. The most comfortable floor I'd ever passed out on.

* * *

I woke to a light warmth against my chest: Mienshao. Every inch of my body hurt, muscles sore from constant running and fighting over the past two days, and bits of gravel embedded in my skin from sleeping directly on the ground. But sleep, even if just a few hours, made all the difference.

I whispered as to not startle Mienshao, or possibly the wild Zoroark. In the darkness, I couldn't see either of them. "You awake?" No response. I carefully slid her head off me and one the ground. At least one of us slept on a decent pillow. I grabbed a blanket from my pack to slip under Mienshao's head, as well as an electric lantern. I clicked on the lowest setting, bright compared to the total darkness of the cave.

Mienshao slept easily, if more soundly than I'd ever seen. Exhaustion clouded my judgement last night and prevented me from looking closer at her wounds. Luckily she didn't suffer more for my mistake.

Zoroark didn't look so good. Despite the potion, it lay in a sprawl, its breathing labored. The cuts on my hand still stung. Sleep more of a priority last night than bandaging myself up.

In the dim light, I opened my pack. Plenty of food and water. I'd learned that on my last idiot expedition: Ilex Forest. My other supplies didn't inspire such hope. Some potions left, which boosted a pokemon's impressive natural ability to heal, but little antidote left. And without a sanitary place to reast, infection might do us all in.

I went to Zoroark. Ragged breaths lifted its wide chest, but three nasty wounds marred its slim abdomen. Tentatively, I reached out to the pokemon's arm. Burning flesh and damp fur met my touch. Not much time left for the injured pokemon.

"You better appreciate this," I muttered. If we made it out of the crater without further fighting, I'd have more than enough. Little chance, but letting this impressive pokemon die felt wrong. A once in a lifetime chance. I fingered a pokeball, a guaranteed catch for a pokemon in this state.

I laid the pokemon out in a more comfortable position, and used a small amount of water to try to clean the deep gouges in Zoroark's stomach. "Can't believe you're even alive."

The ability to create perfect illusions. What had defeated it? The smell of blood hung thick in the stuffy air. Hopefully no predators came to check us out. "I should be helping my pokemon, you know, not awestruck with a pokemon that might not make it anyway." I did what I could. "You better pull through."

I took a moment to lay against the rock wall. Two days. Some told me not to com here, it's cursed, dangerous, evil, all superstitious nonsense – well, except for the dangerous part it turned out. It didn't make sense though. Pokemon didn't act like this anywhere else. Now I knew why so many went missing in this place.

Serperior went down to a Metagross, Jolteon to a Mamoswine. Such powerful pokemon, and they attacked relentlessly. Growlithe hadn't left his ball since coming here, a last hope, but my puppy wasn't a fighter. He didn't want to evolve, and I gladly let him stay his cute tiny self, but now, the fire stone I kept in my pack – a final gambit during an emergency – might have to be used. How long before something attacked our hideout?

I looked to Mienshao again. Sleep called to me, a few more hours, but I owed more to my pokemon. They trusted me to keep them safe, the entire reason they fought for me. I owed them.

Jolteon slumped to the floor upon being released. His once spiked fur lay pressed to his flank, and a number of cuts bled into yellow fur, turning it a sickly brown. The real damage hid beneath his hide from Mamoswine's crushing attacks. I cleaned the smaller wounds.

"It's all on you, buddy. I'm sorry I can't do more." I stroked a hand through his thick fur and turned off stasis on his pokeball. He'd have an easier time healing inside his ball, and without decent ventilation, the fewer of us in here, the better. The air felt heavy enough.

A raspy voice came from the corner. "Zor."

I spun towards those piercing blue eyes, and Zoroark pushed itself up.

"Easy there, you're hurt." We locked eyes, the dark type trying to stare me down. It almost did, I felt cowed by a pokemon that couldn't even stand up. _How are you even awake?_

I took a bottle of water from my pack, careful to not seem threatening. "Here, it's water." I opened the bottle and approached the sitting pokemon, very aware of those calculating eyes. I waited with my hand outstretched, less than a foot from the Zoroark. "We're injured too. I don't want a fight."

Zoroark took the bottle, and it only spilled a little before drinking deeply from the container. The dark type sank back to the ground, but never took its eyes off me.

I backed away and returned to Mienshao, for the moment, fairly sure that Zoroark wouldn't kill us. "Hey girl, how're you feeling?" I stroked her head to wake her.

She opened weary eyes and spoke in barely a whisper. "Mien." Mienshao pulled the blanket over her head.

"Don't be like that. I need to look at your side."

She rolled over to display the three red streaks across her ribs where Sneasel's claws ripped her hide. The blanket still covered her face.

"Good enough," I muttered. Blood ran all the way down to her thigh. I should have done something sooner, no wonder she didn't have any energy. "Sorry. This is gunna sting a bit." Nothing worse than what she already endured for me.

I did what I could for Mienshao and Serperior, not nearly what they deserved, but the best I could. I kept Mienshao out with me. She fared the best of her pokemon, and she had the type advantage over Zoroark.

"Hungry?" I asked Mienshao.

My pokemon still held a paw to her face, where her left whisker ended in a short stub. She looked up at me with sad eyes.

"You're still the most beautiful Mienshao around, and you can correct anyone who thinks differently." I hugged my pokemon gently, careful of her injuries. "You're the only reason we're still alive. I consider that worth a whisker. It'll grow back. Now c'mon, you need to eat something."

"Shao..."

Dried food and water didn't make the best meal, but it beat starving, and usually beat foraging. And we sure weren't going out now. The cave disoriented my sense of time, but if I had to guess, the sun should be peaking over the crater walls.

Zoroark watched us from the corner, silent but alert despite its injuries. It already showed an incredible improvement from how I'd found it a few hours ago. Potions worked great, but still impressive.

I met Zoroark's fierce gaze. "Are you hungry?"

Zoroark didn't react, but almost all pokemon I knew would at least tolerate the stuff, tasteless as it was.

I held up the food and took a bite. "If I wanted to kill or capture you, I would have done it already. I could have."

Zoroark grunted, getting up. It approached cautiously, eyes flitting between Mienshao and myself. Blood matted its stomach, but the wounds had closed, and Zoroark moved easily. It hesitated a few feet away.

I held out an unwrapped granola bar, and place my free hand on Mienshao's shoulder, every muscle in her body tensed to strike.

Zoroark took the food and retreated back into its corner, where it proceeded to sniff the food before devouring it.

"You can join us if you want." But my words didn't get a response, only that flat stare that Zoroark favored. "Not many humans get to meet one of your kind." Again, nothing. I sighed. "Do the pokemon here normally act like this?" It was worth a try. I sat back against the cave wall, but in its corner, Zoroark shook its head. I sat back up.

"Is it natural?"

Nothing.

"Do you know if things will settle down soon?"

Zoroark nodded.

Hope, not something I'd had much of in the past few days. If things settled down, then this chance to rest might see us home yet. I looked to Mienshao with a grin. "I told you." I ruffled the fur on her head, and received an unconvincing glare in return as she fixed her disheveled fur. We just had to wait.

The small blanket made a poor cushion, but it beat laying directly on the rough ground. Even a less-than-filling meal brought back every bit of fatigue I'd tried to ignore. If I'd known hiding in a cave was going to be the best part of this trip, I would have canceled it. It didn't take long to drift into a light sleep.

I woke later. No way to tell how long with my lantern the only source of light, but Mienshao curled up against my side, and I felt more refreshed than the day we set off. I lay, staring up at the ceiling, not wanting to wake my sleeping pokemon.

"Zor."

I hadn't noticed the wild pokemon approach. Some of the ferocity had left its gaze, and while still intent, it didn't quite meet my eyes. It pointed a crimson claw towards the pack at my feet, and placed the bottle I gave it on the ground next to me. It clinked hollowly.

"You can have more. Just try not to spill any, if we can't leave the cave, I only have enough for a few more days. Three at best."

Zoroark bowed its head in thanks and took a bottle from my pack, holding it reverently. It returned once more to the back of the cave.

I got up, trying not to wake Mienshao and failing, and moved towards the cave entrance. Light glinted off Mienshao's watchful eyes. I moved carefully, giving away our hiding place now would be rather unfortunate. A shimmering haze covered the opening in the rock wall. It didn't feel like anything, but the forest beyond looked distorted, like watching the world through a glass pane in a rainstorm.

When I returned, I found Mienshao digging through my pack for something to eat again, Zoroark sitting in the corner. "Did you do something to hide the entrance?"

Zoroark nodded.

An illusion. That's what must have caught my eye the first time. Zoroark couldn't keep the illusion stable. "Are you feeling better?" I asked? "I can take a look at your injuries again."

Blue eyes narrowed, but Zoroark didn't refuse. Dried blood crusted the fur around the dark type's wounds, but the injuries themselves healed well in such a short time.

I picked up my last bottle of antiseptic and approached carefully. "I gave you something to help you heal quicker. This will help fight infection." I showed Zoroark the bottle. Mienshao watched from behind, ready to save me, but I didn't think Zoroark had any intention of attacking us any longer.

We locked eyes as I slowly reached out to touch its fur. Slate fur, crusted with blood brushed the tips of my fingers, and Zoroark didn't move an inch. I went to work. With limited supplies, I applied a minimalist layer of medicine, but it should help a little. Washing the blood away might pull at the wounds, but we didn't have access to that much water anyway.

"You're strong." I rest back on my haunches, admiring the pokemon. What I wouldn't give to have one on my team. "I've never seen another Zoroark, but I've heard that you can make very convincing illusions. It's fine if you don't want to, but could you show me?"

Zoroark considered me for a moment, and then changed into a perfect copy of myself. It didn't shift or morph, it became me.

"Incredible." Every detail, down to the streaks of dirt that marred my face, reflected in Zoroark's appearance. And damn, I looked like shit. I reached out to touch its arm. Fur brushed against my fingers, but it seemed impossible, the fine detail of skin, dirt, and hair too perfect for anything but reality.

My face winked away, replaced by an angular jaw, accented in red, and I backed away.

"How come your kind are so reclusive? Most humans have never seen a Zoroark, or didn't realize if they did." If only we could speak, even for a few minutes. Not the first time I've made that wish. Such a cruel joke. I didn't receive a response, just a long, flat stare. Wisdom radiated from those blue eyes, and though I couldn't tell from looking, Zoroark likely had a number of years on me.

"Thanks." I returned to Mienshao's side to wait out the day again, and give my pokemon as much of a chance to recover as possible. Once Zoroark left, nothing would deter wild pokemon from checking out the cave.

The hours passed quietly. I checked my other pokemon, took stock of our remaining supplies, and played a simple game where I threw pebbles for Mienshao to flick from the air with her whip-like arm fur, until Zoroark growled at us to stop. Awfully grumpy considering I saved its life.

I leaned against the wall once more and closed my eyes for a quick nap. Mienshao rest her head across my lap to rest as well, and I stroked her head until we both fell asleep.

When morning came around once more, Zoroark stood and pointed towards the entrance of the cave. "Roark."

I blinked. "You're leaving?"

The dark type nodded.

"Are you sure you're healed? I can take a look at your injuries again, and we still have food left. I don't mind sharing."

Zoroark shook its head, and then pointed at me, and back to the cave entrance.

I shared a glance with Mienshao. "We could still use another day to rest ourselves-"

Zoroark again shook its head. "Zor." And pointed again.

"Is it safe?"

Zoroark grinned, baring a mouthful of glistening teeth. It nodded, before bowing its head and heading off towards the exit.

"Wait," I called out to the Zoroark. "Stay. Come with me." I grabbed a pokeball from my pack and placed it before the Illusion Fox.

The ghost of a smile crossed the dark type's face, a strange look on its angular muzzle, and Zoroark melted into the air.

Expected. "I hope we meet again," I whispered. Silence hung in the small cave, not even the faintest crunch of gravel to accompany Zoroark's departure. I turned to Mienshao. "Let's go."

Fresh air filled my lungs as I stepped from the cave and into the blinding midday sunlight. Wind swirled around us, and amongst the rustle of leaves, I could have sworn I heard a rough voice say: "Thank you, human."

* * *

A/N: I wanted to try out first person, and this was the result. Nothing special, but I figured I'd share it anyway. Feedback appreciated =)


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